Keyboard + Switch + Keycap

[Wodan]

Much of the discussion I see about keyboards, switches or keycaps focus on one of these components alone. My personal impression is, that is missing the point a little in many situations. An absract discussion about a switch is like talking about a motor without considering the car. The same two liter engine will feel so much different in a Seat Leon, an Audi TT or a VW Touareg.

This is also the reason why I am having such a very hard time picking a favourite switch. On a modern, plate mounted keyboard, I really enjoy MX Red switches or similair when using light keycaps like Cherry profile, DSA or even OEM. But as soon as SA profile caps come into play, the switches start feeling too light for me and I keep getting unintentional keypresses. So when using SA profile caps on a modern, plate mounted keyboard I've grown to like well-lubed ergo-clears with ~60gr. springs. Stickering the switches I use with SA keycaps has also proven very helpful to minimixe wobble. This is something that hardly ever bothered my with lower profile keycaps like DSA or Cherry. Dampening O-rings feel terrible to me on Cherry profile keycaps but I couldn't use OEM profile caps without them.

I also realized I really love typing on Model-F keyboards. It's such a pleasure to type on them and they usually don't require too much restoration work. Model-M keyboards on the other hand feel terrible to me so I wouldn't call myself a buckling spring fan. I am a Model-F fan. Would be really interesting to get some MX-stem adapters for IBM buckling spring mount and try out other keycap profiles on them and see how it affects the overall experience.

So after all this blabbing, my point is that I got some joy out of many keyboards and switches and keycaps - they just need the right combination and sometimes a little modding. Having an abstract, isolated discussion about one single component feels a little odd to me every time I see it or even participate in it. Maybe we could even add stabilizers to the equation, I am not too religious about them so I have not metioned them yet. Still they sometimes even restrict usage of certain caps or even switches on certain keyboards and thus do play a role here.

I know it's the internet and the input field "Favourite Switch" doesn't allow more than 40 characters
But I wanted to share my impression here and hope I didn't bore you all.

[Geroximo]

This is very true.
I absolutly love thick Cherry profiled caps on linear switches.
On MX Blues however, I prefer light ABS caps in OEM profile because they give a much more satisfying feel and clicking noise.
It really depends.

[zslane]

You make sense, Wodan, and in principle I agree.

However, the situation is greatly simplified for me since I don't (and won't willingly) type on anything except SA or DSA keycaps. Right away that limits me to MX switches (until the RealForce MX board arrives anyway).

I can't stand clicky switches, and MX browns/clears are not my idea of what I want from a tactile switch (Topre is much better). That narrows it down to MX red or black. I've tried both and I find that 45cN is perfect for me. Anything heavier is too heavy, and anything lighter is too light. So for me, I only ever talk about SA/DSA with MX red implied.

The keyboard itself isn't much of an issue either since I mostly view the keyboard as little more than a vessel for SA/DSA keycaps. I don't like TKL boards (I want my numpad when sitting at a desktop machine dammit), and the only use I have for something small like a 60%er is with my iPad. So its full-size (ANSI) for me. The plate/PCB is largely irrelevant to me, but I do like a narrow bezel. That means I only buy/use three keyboard models: Filco Majestouch-2 (when I want black), Varmilo VA108 (when I want white), and Pok3r for my iPad (one black and one white).

I don't build boards or hack boards or refurbish old boards. I only buy new stuff made in the last few years, and I only buy "off the shelf". I like how all these constraints simplify my keyboard life, so to speak. This hobby is almost entirely about custom SA/DSA keycap sets for me, and little else. So ultimately, I can talk about keycaps entirely on their own since the switch and board are fixed and unchanging in my life regardless of the keyset.

[mecano]

Makes completly sense thanks for sharing your experience guys, found out the same while trying caps. Finally settled on SA with reds for mods and blacks for alphas (with a layout putting mods on pinkies and thumbs). Also, the plate material flexibity and elasticity is playing a role here being steel or aluminum or something else. Even plate mounting holes positions are important in case of less rigid material (but this has more to do with design flaw than what we are talking about here).